1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to arrangements comprising thread guide elements of a warp or circular knitting machine and a carrier in which the thread guide elements have the same separation from each other and lie in a common plane, protruding from the face of the carrier with each having a proximal end embedded in a composition in the carrier to hold them in place.
Under the term thread guide elements one includes thread guide needles, sliders for needles or sinkers.
2. Description of Related Art
In a well known arrangement of the prior art, thread processing elements such as thread guides, slider needles, sinkers and the like are fused into a carrier made of a zinc antimony alloy. In the formation of such an arrangement (which is commonly known as a "thread guide lead"), the guides are held in place by a tool and placed in a mold comprising an upper and a lower portion into which the alloy is poured. This production procedure is unsuitable for automated serial production, since the pouring and forming is time consuming. Also, in practice, it has not been possible to achieve a high level of production by providing a plurality of identically formed molds in which, at the same time, a plurality of "guide leads" can be produced, which are exactly the same. Furthermore, after the solidification of the carrier material, time consuming position correction of the thread guides is necessary, since during the hardening process their positions may alter and at least the separation of the eyelet end segments which protrude from the carrier must have a pre-determined measurement.
The same difficulties arise when guides with unpenetrated end segments are molded into a synthetic carrier material.
German patent DE-PS 870 591 discloses a carrier wherein the feet of the needles are first embedded in lead and thereafter, embedded in a synthetic material. The positioning of the feet embedded in lead is secured by protuberances or "indentations". However, lead is too heavy for this purpose.
German patent DE-PS 911 772 discloses a situation wherein the needles are only embedded in a synthetic material and secured therein by portions c or e. There is no disclosure herein of a groove for all needles.
A situation similar to that of DE-PS 870 591 is disclosed in British Patent 1 225 935 wherein the body of the holder is made of a plastics material and the needles are embedded in a lead mounted strip. Again, the use of lead under these circumstances is no longer considered acceptable practice.
German OLS 2 110 420 discloses a carrier wherein there are provided individual grooves for each thread guide. While the principle invention is directed to the exact fitting of the thread guides into the grooves, in a further embodiment the grooves are oversized and then, after introduction of the thread guides, filled with a hardening material which could be metallic, epoxy resin or the like. The provision of vertical grooves in this manner is far more complex and time consuming than the provision of a single groove.
German OLS DE 40 33 262 discloses a device wherein the needles or the like are embedded in a carrier of synthetic material which is then introduced into a groove of a holder. The synthetic material is then locked into the holder, either by heating to provide a minimal amount of melting, or by introduction of a solvent which has a similar effect in order to lock the carrier of synthetic material to the holder.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement of a type known by the prior art, but whose structure and mode of production is improved and simpler, and wherein the final correction step of the thread guide elements may be omitted.